Naval Headquarters.
The Summit War — the second round — had begun.
After Brandish had shrunk the colossal surrounding walls, the Marine's entire battle formation collapsed in chaos.
Led by Whitebeard, the pirate vanguard stormed into the bay plaza.
At last, they successfully regrouped with Rayleigh and the Straw Hat brothers.
Two forces became one — and now, only one task remained: break through.
"It's done! Pops! Ace's cuffs are off!"
The Tenth Division Captain, Curiel, shouted in excitement.
The lockpicking specialist who had come with them had managed to undo the seastone cuffs that bound Ace's wrists.
"Ace!!!"
Luffy sprinted forward and threw himself into his brother's arms, crying and laughing at the same time.
"Man, Ace! You don't know how worried Luffy's been all this time!" said Sabo, slapping Ace's shoulder.
"Luffy… Sabo… you guys…"
Ace's eyes burned red as he fought to keep his tears from spilling.
"Gurararara! Ace! You can still move, can't you?"
Whitebeard's booming laugh shook the battlefield.
"Yeah, I'm fine now!"
Ace clenched his fists, Armament Haki wrapping around them in a dark shimmer.
"Gurararara! Then little ones — prepare to retreat!!!"
Whitebeard bellowed his order.
"YEAH!!!"
The Whitebeard Pirates roared in unison, their morale surging sky-high.
Gulug, gulug, gulug—
Suddenly, molten magma surged in waves, burning black and red as it rolled forward like a living sea.
"Did you really think I'd let you all escape that easily?!"
Admiral Akainu strode atop the flowing lava, his face twisted with hatred.
Ever since Sugisawa Yuuto had dismantled the Marines' encirclement plan, Akainu's rage toward him had only deepened.
Yet even in his fury, Akainu knew his priority: stop the Whitebeard Pirates at any cost.
As the magma admiral entered the fray, the already desperate battle between the Marines and Whitebeard's men escalated into pure chaos.
Meanwhile, out on the frozen gulf—
Aboard the Fairy Tail Magic Power Ship, Sugisawa Yuuto lounged casually on the deck, eating fruit as he watched the distant battle unfold.
He was clearly enjoying himself.
But before long—
Clack… clack… clack!
Footsteps echoed through the air — light, measured, sharp.
A slender figure descended gracefully from above and landed before Yuuto.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi," Yuuto greeted with a faint smile. "The Marines seem to be fighting quite the hard battle. Are you sure you have time to be this leisurely?"
"The situation's only this bad because of you!" Gion snapped, glaring at him.
"If it weren't for you, we'd already have won! If you hadn't destroyed the encirclement walls, Whitebeard wouldn't have breached the plaza! Don't tell me you're still pretending to 'minimize casualties'? You're clearly targeting the Marines at every turn!"
"Are you picking a fight?" Brandish lifted her eyelids lazily, her body flaring with powerful magic energy.
"Easy," Yuuto said lightly, raising a hand to calm her. "If it's a fight she wants, I'll handle it."
He turned back to Gion, his tone mild but edged with amusement.
"When you were trapped in Uta's Singing World, the Marines already claimed victory once — that was the outcome everyone in Sabaody saw. I told you before: the Marines would win, and Whitebeard would eventually fade from the seas. Within two years, he'd die. You all knew that — yet you chose to wage another war. I've already fulfilled my commission. Everything happening now is the result of your own choices."
"In that case," Gion countered, her brows knitting together, "if you're truly neutral, why interfere? Why help Whitebeard? Why destroy our walls?"
Yuuto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why don't you ask your Admiral Akainu? For half a year now, I've tolerated your Marines out of respect. But again and again, you've overstepped. I won't tolerate it any longer. From this moment on — anyone, or anything, that stands against Fairy Tail… will pay the price."
His words were calm — yet they carried a weight that made the air itself grow heavy.
The moment his voice fell—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The thunder of cannon fire split the silence.
Dozens of pitch-black shells exploded from distant battleships, hurtling toward the Fairy Tail vessel.
Yuuto's expression darkened.
"Really now…"
He lifted a hand. Gravity magic erupted around him.
The incoming shells froze midair — suspended motionless like insects in amber.
Then, in an instant, they reversed their paths, screaming back toward the ships that had fired them.
BOOOOOOM!
The cannons detonated violently, tearing their own batteries apart.
"Who authorized that attack?!" Gion shouted in shock. She turned sharply, her face pale.
"Kaji! What are you doing?! Who gave that order?!"
Vice Admiral Tokikake, nicknamed Tea Dolphin, lowered his weapon slowly, his face grim.
"Gion… stop being naive. Fairy Tail will never be our ally. A clash was inevitable — and this war marks the beginning of that conflict."
"Are you insane?!" Gion snapped. "By doing this, you'll turn the Marines against both Whitebeard and Fairy Tail!"
"There's only one of them here," Tokikake said coldly. "Now's the best chance to eliminate Sugisawa Yuuto. World Government reinforcements will be here soon — once they arrive, no one leaves alive."
He paused, then added darkly, "And this isn't just my decision. I've received authorization from above."
"What…?"
Gion's face went pale.
"That's enough. Get out of there, Gion!" Tokikake barked over the den-den mushi.
"Aren't you going to leave yet?" Yuuto's tone was light, almost mocking.
"No! We don't mean to be your enemy!" Gion protested, still trying to reason with him.
But before she could say more—
"Gion, that's enough. Stand down."
The voice was deep and steady — an old man's voice.
A shadow moved across the ice. Monkey D. Garp approached slowly, hands in his coat pockets, a faint smile on his weathered face.
"Vice Admiral Garp… you mean—"
Seeing him, Gion's eyes widened in disbelief.
She understood immediately. Tokikake hadn't been bluffing.
This time, the Marines were truly ready to sever all ties with Fairy Tail.
"So… it's the Marine hero himself," Yuuto said with a lazy grin. His eyes gleamed with mischief. "What's the matter, old man? You here to scare me?"
Garp chuckled. "Scared, huh?"
"No, no," Yuuto replied smoothly. "Just disappointed. One Marine hero alone won't be enough to keep me entertained. What about your Marshal? Is he not joining the fun?"
Garp's grin turned sharp.
"Cocky brat. There's a limit to arrogance, you know!"
He cracked his fists, his aura surging like a tidal wave.
"This time's different. I won't be holding back!"
Yuuto smirked, the wind stirring around him.
"Good. Because if you don't go all out—" his eyes flashed, "—you'll regret it."
With a single breath, his power ignited.
Brilliant lightning arced across his body, followed by blazing crimson fire.
From his back, two vast wings of flame unfurled — dark red and radiant, stretching tens of meters wide.
The wings of the Flame Dragon King.
Yanryuō Mode — Activated!
The air trembled as the heavens themselves seemed to burn.
...
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